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Thursday, April 28th, 2011

R&B Legend Bettye LaVette Announces NYC Residency

"The High Priestess of R&B," as Bettye LaVette has been dubbed by the Huffington Post, is bringing her soul-shattering show to href="http://www.thecarlyle.com/entertainment.cfm">The Carlyle Hotel for a residency from May 24 to June 3, with performances Tuesday through Saturday, the first week and Tuesday through Friday, the second.

Cited as "the last great vernacular black singer" by The New Yorker, Bettye has been honing her skills since her first single was released at the tender age of 16 in 1962. Yet it wasn't until four decades later when she was signed to Anti- in 2004 that Bettye began to garner a wide audience. Before that, she seemed to be the best kept secret in the world of rhythm & blues. With the release of My Own Hell to Raise in 2005 and the follow up, Scene of the Crime out in 2007, public awareness of Bettye began to grow. As a result, she was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2008. Hers was such a riveting performance the producers of the show proceeded to ask Bettye to sing at Obama's Inaugural Celebration in front of the world. Meanwhile since the release of last year's Interpretations: the British Rock Songbook, Bettye "now rivals Aretha Franklin as her generation's most vital soul singer," according to the New York Times.

Now with two Grammy nominations under her belt and performances to sold out venues all over the globe, Bettye is an undisputed world class interpreter of any genre of song. Her upcoming shows at the Carlyle will be showcasing Bettye's inimitable style, gut wrenching vocals and songs from throughout her five decade career. Now 65, Esquire has called Bettye "the sexiest female vocalist alive."